Combination sweeper and blower



W. E. GRACE July 1, 1952 COMBINATION SWEEPER AND BLOWER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 10, 1948 William 5. Grace IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY W. E. GRACE July 1, 1952 COMBINATION SWEEPER AND BLOWER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 10, 1948 h mm M W/Y/ldfl? 6r e JNVENTOR.

ATTORNEY July 1, 1952 w. E. GRACE 2,601,695

COMBINATION SWEEPER AND BLOWER Filed May 10, 19 48 s Sheets-Sheet s Will/am Grace INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Patented July 1, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,601,695 I comems'rronsweeren annnmwen WilliamE-aGrace, Dallas, Tex. Application May 1D, 1948,, Serial No. 23,165

3 Claims. (Cl. 15-328) .This invention relates to street and highway maintenance machines and more particularly to a combination sweeper and blower.

' The principal object of the invention is to provide, in a single compact machine both a sweeper and a blower, the latter being, driven directly from the engine at the rear thereof through a clutch while the brush sweeper is driven through a power take-off 'atrthe front of the same engine, thus materially simplifying construction as well as operation of a machine for removing dust, gravel and. dirt from the surface of and cracks in a road base preliminary to the application of asphalt. ,Moreover, the machine is advantageous in. evaporating much of the moisture in a damp road base.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination sweeper and blower in which facilities are provided for raising the brush sweeper from the operators position in the cab of the truck used for pulling the machine.

With the foregoing objects in view, the invention has further reference to certain features of accomplishment which will become apparent as the description proceeds, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a combination sweeper and blower constructed according to the invention.

a t Figure 2 is a top plan view.

Figure 3 is a rear elevational view, and

Figure 4 is afragmentary brush supporting main frame showing the sub-frame, king post,

transmission and brush raising lever.

Continuing with a more detailed description of the drawing, reference numeral denotes an engine mounted on a chassis or main frame consisting of parallel channel members H which extend rearwardly of the engine to provide a support also for a blower housing l2, through transverse members 13. Secured to the opposite end of the frame are forwardly convergent members M which support at their forward ends a plate I5 on which is perpendicularly mounted a hollow king pin embraced by a rotatable sleeve l6.

Afdxed to the sleeve It at their inner ends as by welding, is a pair of laterally extending beams I) which constitute a part of the sub-frame or mounting for the rotary brush IB. Secured to the bottom of the rotatable sleeve I6 is a plate I9 having therein a plurality of arcuately spaced holes which successively register with a hole (not shown) in the underlying plate [5 to receive a pin adapted to secure the brush l8 in adjusted positions. It is obvious therefore that the brush v 7 may be moved from its trailing position as shown in the severalvlews to one or the other orthe angular sweeping positions.

Embracing the top of the hollow king pin, above the upper end of the sleeve is is a collar 2|, to which is welded the forward ends of a pair of arcua'ted bracing members 22, the rear ends of these members being similarly affixed to the members ll of the main frame or chassis of the machine. The hollow king pin provides a tool receptacle which is covered by a cap 2 3a Arranged below the plate 15 and the convergence of frame members 14 is a transmission housing 24 containing a transmission driven through a shaft 2-5 from the engine It. A clutch 26 is actuated by a lever 21 to control the transmission, starting, stopping and reversing the direction of rotation of a lateral drive shaft 28 which is connected with the transmission through a universal joint 29. The shaft 28 extends outwardly under one-of the lateral subframe members I 1 and its outer end is journaled in a bearing in the outer end of the member l1 and carries a sprocket wheel 30 (Fig. 1).

Afhxed to the endof each of the sub-frame members Hand extending forwardly thereof is a brush supporting plate 3|, one of which plates is concealed in Figure 1 by a chain guard 32, enclosing a sprocket chain 33 which engages the sprocket wheel 30 and a larger sprocket wheel 34, mounted on one end of the brush axle 35. a

The brush it is counterbalanced by a. coil spring 36 at each end thereof, the springs being connected at their lower ends adjacent the ends of the brush axle-and at their upper ends "to chains: 31, the latter in tum being connected to uprights 38, one on the outer end of each subframe member H.

Raising of the brush it is accomplished through thernedium of a lever 39, mounted on the end of a shaft 10, the latter being mounted at its outer end in a bracket 1H and is suspended at its inner end by a bracket 42 attached to and extending. outwardly from the rotatable sleeve l6. A link 43 is afiixed .to the inner end of shaft 40 and is apertured to receive the upper end of a rod 44 which depends and is pivotally connected to a bracket 45, welded to a hood 46, arcuated to overlie the brush I8. Connected to apertures 41 (Fig. 4) in the upper end of the lever 39 is ropes 48 (Fig. 1) which extend forwardly to the cab of the truck, not shown, which pulls the machine and by which the brush is raised and lowered. A quadrant 50 holds the lever and brush in adjusted positions.

The main frame of the machine is supported on rear wheels 5|, mounted on a transverse axle 52 and a beam 53 is welded or otherwise secured to the collar 2| on the upper end of the king pin and extends forwardly. A Wheel 54 is mounted in a wheel fork 55, the latter having a stub shaft 56 entering a bearing in the end of the beam 53 to provide for free rotation of the shaft 56 so that the wheel 54 will track. A trailer hitch 51 (Fig. 1) provides a coupling between the machine and draft truck.

Returning to the blower and its associated elements, it will be observed in Figure 2 that a twin disc, clutch 58 controls operation of the blower from the motor [0. clutch.

A blower head 59, having an adjustable nozzle 60, is telescopically mounted on the duct 6| of the blower for vertical adjustment, such adjustment being accomplished by means of a lever 62, mounted on a shaft 63. Arms 64 are affixed .tothe shaft on each end thereof to lie on each side of the duct GI and to each of these arms is pivoted a link 65 which links, in turn, are pivotally connected to the upper portion of the blower head 59, so that, upon raising and lowering the lever 62, the blower nozzle will likewise be raised and lowered. A quadrant 66 holds the lever 62 and blower nozzle in adjusted positions. It is apparent from the foregoing that once the nozzle of the blower is adjusted properly in relation to the road surface, no further adjustments are necessary during operation of the machine except the raising and lowering of the brush in turning the machine and this is accomplished by an operation in the cab of the truck pulling the machine. Should another attendant be desired, a platform 6'! is provided on the main frame adjacent the motor ID, as shown in Figure 2.

Manifestly, the construction as shown and described is capable of some modification and such modification as may be construed to fall within the scope and meaning of the appended claims is also considered to be within the spirit and intentof the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In amachine for simultaneously sweeping a road and blowing loose particles therefrom, an elongated frame on wheels, an engine on said frame having a front and rear power take-off, a rotary brush mounted, on an axle forwardly of said engine and driven by the front power takeoff of saidengine, a blower housing mounted on said frame rearwardly of said engine, a blower in said housing mounted on and driven by said rear powerv take-off, a discharge duct connected to said blower housing and extending downwardly therefrom at the rear of said frame, a blower headmounted telescopically forvertical adjustment on said duct, an elongated air dis- A lever"59' actuates the 4 charge nozzle carried by the lower end of said blower head and disposed parallel with the longitudinal axis of said frame and adapted to direct a blast of air transversely across the path traversed by said machine and means for adjusting said blower head.

2. A trailer type sweeping and blowing machine comprising an elongated wheeled frame, an engine mounted on the rear of said frame, a blower housing disposed on said frame rearwardly of said engine, a blower in said housing operated by the drive shaft of said engine, a clutch interposed between said engine and blower housing, a vertically adjustable and elongated nozzle on said blower housing disposed parallel to and to one side of the major axis of said frame for directing the discharge of said blower transversely across the path traversed by said machine, a rotary brush disposed forwardly of said engine, a transmission forwardly of and driven by said engine, and means for driving said brush through said transmission.

3. In a trailer type road sweeping and blowing machine, an elongated frame, an engine on said frame having a power take-off at its front and rear, a blower housing mounted on said frame rearwardly of said engine, a blower in said housing mounted on and driven by the rear power take-off of said engine, a discharge duct connected to and extending laterally and downwardly from said blower housing a blower head telescopically mounted on the end of said duct, an elongated discharge nozzle mounted on said blower head parallel to and disposed on one side of the major axis of said frame for directing the discharge of said blower transversely across a road, a rotary brush sweeper mounted on said frame forwardly of said engine, and means operatively connecting said brush to the front power take-off of said engine.

WILLIAM E. GRACE.-

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,075,489 Murray Oct. 14, 1913 1,081,209 Carr Dec. 9, 1913 1,181,279 Williams May 2, 1916 2,180,269 Wisher Nov. 14, 1939 2,229,230 Wagner Jan. 21,1941 2,259,632 Grace Oct. 21, 1941 2,300,280 Teager Oct. 27, 1942 2,346,270 Nisbet Apr. 11, 1944 2,561,882 Patton July 24, 1951 V FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 24,821 Great Britain 1909 

